Alcatel-Lucent uses SDN to meld IP, optical services

Alcatel-Lucent this week extended its carrier SDN product line with an automation and network control system designed to accelerate service provisioning from multivendor IP and optical infrastructure.

The company's Network Services Platform combines Alcatel-Lucent's SDN-based software with its 5260 service-aware management system, Service Router operating system and the 1830 Photonic Service Switch GMPLS routing engine algorithms from Bell Labs. It also has a REST API interface to the Nuage Networks Virtual Services Platform SDN controller for data center networks so the IP/MPLS/optical network can be quickly provisioned based on the needs of data center interconnection and virtual machine mobility.

NSP enables real-time network-wide path computation and optimization across IP and optical layers, Alcatel-Lucent says. It offers visibility into the state of the network so operators can use the best available network resources.

The product employs self-tuned adaptive routing algorithms from Bell Labs that use information such as link traffic and use, and network topology and state, to establish the most efficient network path. The system, for example, allows service providers to move paths to avoid network congestion or dynamically turn up bandwidth to allow additional customer services to be added, Alcatel-Lucent says.

NSP will be commercially available in June 2015. It will compete with automation and provisioning tools like Cisco's Cariden, Tail-f and Prime Optical offerings, Juniper's NorthStar, Huawei's Smart SDN Controller, and multilayer WAN controllers from Ciena and Ericsson.

Copyright 2018 IDG Communications. ABN 14 001 592 650. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of IDG Communications is prohibited.